MMAInterviews.tv was lucky enough to sit down with British superstar Michael “The Count” Bisping just weeks before he steps into the main event of UFC on FX 7 against Vitor Belfort.The sharp-tongued basher didn’t waste time with pleasantries regarding …
MMAInterviews.tv was lucky enough to sit down with British superstar Michael “The Count” Bisping just weeks before he steps into the main event of UFC on FX 7 against Vitor Belfort.
The sharp-tongued basher didn’t waste time with pleasantries regarding his opponent.
Citing the suspicious cardio of his opponent, Bisping feels that he will make Vitor “a walking punching bag” after the first round and called the fight an “easy night.”
Dana Whitehas assured the Ultimate Fighter winner that his elusive title shot will finally be delivered if he defeats Belfort on January 19.
Some feel that Bisping shouldn’t leapfrog over top contender Chris Weidman, who is 5-0 in the UFC and undefeated as a professional. However, the Serra-Longo middleweight is injured, and a victory over a former world champion like Belfort gives Bisping a stronger list of credentials.
Belfort nearly shocked the MMA community in September when he challenged Jon Jones for the UFC light heavyweight championship. “The Phenom” took the fight on short notice and was successful in securing an armbar against the heavy favorite.
Jones persevered and ultimately won the contest, but Belfort proved that he can still compete with the best in the world.
Bisping competed on the same card. Taking on Brian Stann, the Brit did enough to earn a unanimous decision victory. It was the only win of 2012 for The Count after an injury forced him out of a planned UFC 149 contest against Tim Boetsch.
In January, he was unsuccessful in a title eliminator against Chael Sonnen.
When Mirko Cro Cop left the UFC after his third consecutive loss by way of knockout, it was widely assumed that the then-37-year-old had competed for the last time in his MMA career. The PRIDE megastar did step away from MMA, but he would not reti…
When Mirko Cro Cop left the UFC after his third consecutive loss by way of knockout, it was widely assumed that the then-37-year-old had competed for the last time in his MMA career.
The PRIDE megastar did step away from MMA, but he would not retire from combat sports. In March, the Croatian returned to the world of kickboxing with a unanimous decision win against Ray Sefo. He finished up the year with another pair of victories before deciding that he wanted another MMA bout.
Back in August, I expanded on an interview that Cro Cop did with USA Today. He discussed the incorrect assumption that people made about his fighting career after parting ways with the UFC
“Concerning my retirement from the UFC, I said it was my last fight for the UFC and last fight on the present contract, but I did not say, ‘I won’t keep fighting,’ ” Filipovic (Cro Cop) said. “I never said that. I think the best thing to say is that I was born to fight.”
At that point, the Croatian was preparing for his third kickboxing bout of the year and predicted that he would dip his toe back into the MMA pool shortly afterwards.
On New Years Eve, Cro Cop took on ShinichiSuzukawa, a former sumo wrestler who was making his professional debut. As would be expected in a contest between a legend and someone who possessed zero MMA experience, the former title contender made quick work of his opponent.
It’s nice to see Cro Cop fighting again, especially in bouts where he likely won’t take any concussive blows.
Cro Cop is already booked for another kickboxing contest in March. Although no announcement has been made about an opponent, Mirko has shown interest in a bout with Gokhan Saki.
Liverkick.com has linked Cro Cop to two more MMA contests in 2012. Negotiations are ongoing for a February 15 bout against UFC veteran Dennis Stojinic. That bout would take place in Bosnia. Additionally, Pedro Rizzo is signed up to fight Cro Cop at Royal FC in May.
In case you guys missed seeing “The Demolition Man” Alistair Overeem in action, the popular Dutchman went to Japan for an arm wrestling tournament last weekend.In the finals, he ran into another mixed martial artist who is undeniably popular in Japan&m…
In case you guys missed seeing “The Demolition Man” Alistair Overeem in action, the popular Dutchman went to Japan for an arm wrestling tournament last weekend.
In the finals, he ran into another mixed martial artist who is undeniably popular in Japan—Bob Sapp.
This might just be the first physical activity in years where Sapp actually tries to have his arm raised. It has been somewhat of a running joke for years that “The Beast” throws all of his fights in order to collect an easy paycheck.
It is a horrible accusation to make against any fighter, but when you consider that he used to be a successful boxer and mixed martial artist, it seems fishy that Sapp has faced regional talent yet somehow has lost 11 of his last 12 kickboxing bouts and 13 of his last 14 MMA fights.
Sapp defeated Overeem in the tournament final, and it earned him a crack at the Japanese world champion, where “The Beast” didn’t fare so well.
In less than one tick of the clock, the world champion showed why he is the best in the world. Sapp legitimately looked as if he couldn’t believe how easily he was out-muscled by the smaller man.
Overeem returns to action for the first time in 13 months on February 2 at UFC 156, where he will meet Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in a hotly anticipated fight. If he is successful, it is likely that he will meet Cain Velasquez for the UFC heavyweight championship later this year.
At UFC 155, Cain Velasquez may have recaptured the UFC heavyweight championship, but the fight that everyone was talking about on Sunday was the epic bloodbath between Jim Miller and Joe Lauzon.The pair of lightweights showed websites like MMAfighting….
At UFC 155, Cain Velasquez may have recaptured the UFC heavyweight championship, but the fight that everyone was talking about on Sunday was the epic bloodbath between Jim Miller and Joe Lauzon.
The pair of lightweights showed websites like MMAfighting.com why it’s presumptuous to give away Fight of the Year honors before the final fight card of the year has taken place.
It didn’t take long for these submission aces to show that they can bang with the best. The first round saw combinations from each man, with Miller throwing a pair of hooks followed by an uppercut on a few occasions.
The secret of Miller’s success came from utilizing a single arm collar tie on Lauzon. In the opening minutes of the bout, the New Jersey native grabbed the hold twice and was able to deliver short elbows, a knee to the midsection and an uppercut from the position.
Lauzon seemed a bit predictable early on, sticking with a left jab, right straight combo over and over again. Around 2:10, J-Lau threw that combination for a third-consecutive time and Miller was waiting for it. As soon as Lauzon‘s right hand finished firing, Miller landed a trio of hooks before grabbing the single collar tie once again.
At this point, Miller landed three elbows that opened a nasty gash above Lauzon‘s eye, which he followed up with some uppercuts. As Lauzon turned to get away, Miller attempted to lock in a standing arm triangle, which looked really close for a brief moment.
The bleeding at this point was so bad that Yves Lavigne called time as soon as the combatants separated. The ringside official allowed the fight to keep going and the slugfest continued.
Miller continues to press forward in aggressive fashion, throwing more elbows and hooks, as well a rare head kick. Lauzon seems a bit more fired up after the check and he lands a nasty knee as Miller leaned forward.
With each man covered in Lauzon‘s blood, they traded body shots, low kicks and haymakers until the first bell sounded. I’ve got it 10-9 for Miller.
Round 2 begins, and we can see that Lauzon has a 3-4 inch gash directly above his right eye. With vaseline holding the blood in temporarily, it was obvious that the canvas was about to be covered in plasma.
They come out aggressive again after Lauzon motions to the crowd to make some noise. The striking doesn’t last long though, as Miller ducks under a punch and shoots a big takedown.
Lauzon briefly utilized butterfly guard before switching to a closed guard while attempting to sweep Miller. Instead, Miller was able to pass into half guard while applying pressure to the cut with his shoulder.
Miller took advantage of Lauzon bucking and used the momentum to ride into mount, although half guard was recovered again. While Lauzon tried to get up, Miller looked for a D’arce choke, but was unsuccessful in achieving it, as Lauzon got to his knees and drove through for a takedown.
After affording them the opportunity to get settled into guard, referee Yves Lavgine once again stops the fight, but it’s not about the cut. Joe Lauzon had a large chunk of his wrist tape unravel, so Lavigne called for scissors and cuts the excess before restarting the action.
When they restart, Miller looks for rubber guard and Lauzon passes into half guard while searching for a submission. Dropping back, J-Lau looked for a straight ankle lock, transitioned into a heel hook and when that failed, he attempted a knee bar, but wasn’t above the knee enough to lock it in.
Despite losing a lot of blood, Lauzon is looking very comfortable in the cage as we end Round 2. The success at the end might steal the round in the eyes of some judges, but I’ve got it 10-9 Miller.
Both corners gave pep talks to their fighters about who wants it more before Round 3 opens with low kicks and looping hooks from Miller, who started to look drained. For the second time in the round, a low kick from Miller has enough pep behind it to sweep the leg out from J-Lau and send him to the ground, but he wanted the action standing.
Two minutes into the final frame and Miller is looking to land elbows from short distance, but this time does not look for the single collar tie first. It isn’t effective, but a Lauzon knee to the midsection stunned Jim for a moment.
Each man is slowing down with 100 seconds left in the fight, with Miller being the aggressor and Lauzon mostly covering up, but still throwing combinations after taking a deep breath.
In the final minute, Lauzon is looking for a way to finish this fight, but is having trouble connecting with big shots and a flying knee misses. With 29 seconds left on the clock, a desperate Lauzon attempted a flying heel hook that was close, but unsuccessful.
The clock continued to tick away as Lauzon fully locks in a front choke that has Miller in trouble. It was in deep and there is no question that Miller is doing anything he can to survive until the horn, which he does.
All three judges scored the fight 29-28 for Miller, which is the correct scoring, as Lauzon earned himself the final round as neither man stood out in the striking department and with his near submissions at the end.
On Saturday night, Cain Velasquez recaptured the UFC heavyweight championship by crumbling Junior dos Santos in the main event of UFC 155. The belt represents the AKA member’s status as the greatest heavyweight on the planet.But where does Velasquez ra…
On Saturday night, Cain Velasquez recaptured the UFC heavyweight championship by crumbling Junior dos Santos in the main event of UFC 155. The belt represents the AKA member’s status as the greatest heavyweight on the planet.
But where does Velasquez rank among the all-time UFC heavyweight champions who have also held this status symbol over the years?
The win kicks off the second reign for Velasquez, who becomes only one of three men to have multiple reigns as undisputed UFC champion. That helps boost him above fighters like Mark Coleman and Big Nog, who only had one reign.
Although Velasquez doesn’t have a successful title defense to his credit like Kevin Randleman or Junior dos Santos, he deserves to be ranked above them based on his record against world-class competition.
That leaves him ranked fifth in my eyes. The previous champions who sit above him in the countdown are Andrei Arlovski, Tim Sylvia, Brock Lesnar and Randy Couture. Arlovski is a one-time champion; however, he has two title defenses to his credit, and both came by way of first-round knockout.
Sylvia gets a lot of flack for letting himself go in recent years, but there is no denying his former greatness. Like Velasquez, he has two title reigns, but pulls ahead based on his three title defenses.
While Brock Lesnar also eats a lot of disrespect for the latter performances of his career, there is no questioning the impact he made on the heavyweight division. With a win over Randy Couture to get the belt-plus defenses against interim champions Frank Mir and Shane Carwin, there is little dispute that Velasquez will need some title defenses before his championship legacy is greater than that of Brock.
Ranking at No. 1, Randy Couture pops his head into the countdown. “Captain America” has three separate reigns as heavyweight champion and defended his belts as many times.
In November, I released a power ranking of every champion in UFC history. Using links to some of those slides as illustration, I’ve filtered that list and adjusted the position of Cain based on his UFC 155 win.
As we enter 2013, there is a new sheriff of the UFC heavyweight division: Cain Velasquez.Now a 10-fight veteran of the Octagon, Velasquez has defeated the very best that Joe Silva could put in his path, and done so in tremendous fashion. On Saturd…
As we enter 2013, there is a new sheriff of the UFC heavyweight division: Cain Velasquez.
Now a 10-fight veteran of the Octagon, Velasquez has defeated the very best that Joe Silva could put in his path, and done so in tremendous fashion.
On Saturday night, the Mexican stud out of AKA decimated Junior dos Santos in a way that no one had ever dreamed was possible. After all, “Cigano” was 9-0 in the UFC and had previously knocked out Velasquez in only 64 seconds.
The win was impressive to say the least, but how does it stack up to the other performances of Velasquez’s career?
Here is a power ranking of the five best performances in the career of Cain Velasquez.
In case you guys missed seeing “The Demolition Man”